Nano-porous Poly-L-lactic Acid Microtube Array Membranes

Title:Nano-porous Poly-L-lactic Acid Microtube Array Membranes

Volume: 10 Issue: 2

Author(s): Li-Ching Lin, Yao-Chi Shu, Jen-Chang Yang, Han-Shian Shie, Sheng-Yang Lee and Chien-Chung Chen

Affiliation:

Keywords: Electrospinning, microtube array membrane, MTAM, permeation, poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), porogen.

Abstract: Novel poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) microtube array membranes (MTAMs) with a porous wall structure were prepared by electrospinning. Porogen of polyethylene glycol (PEG) was mixed with PLLA and dissolved in a dichloromethane/dimethylformamide solvent. The solution dope was delivered to the outer layer of coaxial spinneret, while the PEG/polyethylene oxide (50/50 wt. %) aqueous solution was delivered to the core layer, to form arrays of core-shell fibers through an electrospinning process. Porogen was then washed off to produce array of microtubes with a porous wall structure. The morphology and physical properties of the MTAMs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a texture analyzer (TA), and a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). With porogen content of 0~50 wt.%, pores, ranging from a few tens of nanometers to a few microns, were clearly seen in SEM micrographs for the surface of PLLA_/PEG30-50 MTAMs after the washing process. However, porogen was effectively washed off only from PLLA_/PEG30-50 MTAMs, thus their wall structure was transformed from a dense to porous one. PLLA_/PEG MTAMs remained relatively hydrophobic. Young’s modulus of PLLA_/PEG MTAMs decreased from 850 to 400 kPa, while the fracture work increased from 854 gmm to a maximum value of 4478 gmm for PLLA_/PEG10. Permeation through MTAMs was conducted, and results revealed that only pores in the walls of PLLA_/PEG30-50 MTAMs were well interconnected. Cumulative permeation increased with the PEG content. These results suggest that multifunctional porous PLLA MTAMs can potentially be used in medical applications, such as nerve regeneration conduits.

Cite this article as:

Lin Li-Ching, Shu Yao-Chi, Yang Jen-Chang, Shie Han-Shian, Lee Sheng-Yang and Chen Chien-Chung, Nano-porous Poly-L-lactic Acid Microtube Array Membranes, Current Nanoscience 2014; 10 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1573413709999131209124001